UH keeps tuition
and fees lower than
national average

UH generally follows the
nationwide trend of higher fees,
but students here
still pay less

State gets UH workers' comp contract

Star-Bulletin staff

Increases in tuition and fees for undergraduates at the University of Hawaii this year generally followed trends nationwide, except for lower division students at UH-Hilo and West Oahu, who faced larger hikes.

But Hawaii students still pay less overall than those on the mainland.

Nationwide increases ranged from 3.4 percent to 4.7 percent, the smallest hike in four years.

Mainland undergraduates at four-year public schools in their home states paid an average $3,356 for this academic year, a 3.4 percent increase. At UH-Manoa, undergraduates paid $3,142, or 3.2 percent more.

At UH Hilo and West Oahu, juniors and seniors paid $2,330, also 3.2 percent more.

At two-year public schools, mainland students paid an average $1,627, a 4.7 percent increase. Freshmen and sophomores at UH-Hilo and West Oahu paid $1,466 this year, a 5.2 percent increase.

At UH community colleges, tuition was $1,052, or 4.8 percent more. Nationwide, 58 percent of student aid came from loans -- about $37 billion -- up from 40 percent in 1980-81.

Last school year about 6,000 UH-Manoa students received financial aid. That was up from 2,500 students four years earlier. The total amount of student debt from loans at UH was not available.

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State gets UH workers’
comp contract

By Pat Omandam
Star-Bulletin

The state Department of Human Resources Development, for the first time, will be contracted like a private business to manage workers' compensation claims for the University of Hawaii.

Under the contract, state officials say, UH will save money and help reform traditional civil service.

"The university and taxpayers will benefit from the contract agreement because these cases will receive the full attention of expert claims management services," said UH President Kenneth P. Mortimer.

"Our university staff, already faced with an increased workload, can focus on providing improved services to the university and its system of community colleges."

Gov. Ben Cayetano, who witnessed the signing of the two-year, $166,000 contract yesterday, said it is the first time the department will serve as a third-party administrator in managing workers' comp claims cases for a fee. He said it is significant because the state is moving away from the traditional way of doing things and becoming more entrepreneurial.

By contracting out management of workers' compensation, UH will be able to abolish two full-time positions generating considerable savings, said Eugene Imai, UH senior vice president for administration.

Mortimer said six other companies bid on the contract. The UH felt the department's bid gave UH the most qualified staff to immediately handle the university's active cases.

Human Resources Director Mike McCartney said the work will be done by existing staff and that personnel will be added if more contracts are awarded to the department. McCartney said the contract is an example of how the state can provide third-party professional services beyond the "typical governmental box," all of which help modernize Hawaii civil service.

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